Powers
by Sambosasstache
Summary: The powers of Dormin and the colossi have been passed on generation through generation of humans to reach a teenage boy in the 21st century. Will trying to hide his powers be the worst of his problems, or just the beginning?
1. Hunted

A/N: This is my first story posting on this website that has reinvigorated my inspiration to keep writing. For any accurate measurements, I can thank and give credit to Nomad Colossus! This is definitely not the greatest story, looses track at points, but I enjoy the characters. I hope you enjoy the story too, and maybe I'll go back and change some things. Thank you for reading!

A/N Edit: I messed up on the measurements of the colossi! I was using the wrong numbers, here's my source to double check me: nomads blog on blogstop, blog is titled Colossi Sizes (Real World). Sorry about that!

I walked back home from school on the deserted sidewalk. The old, brown leaves from fall flying across the sidewalk and onto the road. The wind blew in my face and cars passed by me on the road. This small residential area was what I called home all my life. Something about it, the scenery may be, the neighbors, the nostalgia, I loved it. Something about it today though, it didn't feel right. I smiled at my comment. Yeah, foreshadowing my own demise. This is where things start to pick up. I needed to get past this crowded area and head home to the outskirts of town. That's where I could truly be myself. My hands ached too, which wasn't uncommon, but it wasn't a daily thing either. All that... curse, I suppose you could call it, coursing through my veins and festering at my hands. People knew what I was too. I didn't mind, sometimes they forgot about it and they were all chill, like: "Hey Jason, how was your day!" but the last time that happened the guy got in the way of my mad dash out of town. You know... as I changed. Hasn't talked to me since. Such a small town too, I see him everyday, but he never looks my way. I walked past a space between two houses. Then someone jumped out at me from the space. They held a gun towards me and said:

"You're coming with me, kid. Don't think about going away either, I have that sword you're so afraid of. I hear that your powers are worth a fortune, that I intend to collect. Lemme see your hands." The guy had a scruffy gray beard with a bald head that reflected the light. I really wanted to touch his head. To see how smooth it was, of course. I'm not weird, I'm curious.

I looked at the man pretending to be confused. I knew what my powers could do. I stared at the markings that were on the palms of my hands. They were actually called sigils. There were three circles with markings stretching vertical, with more intricate design throughout. I raised them to him above my head. Then, I looked both ways down the street and noticed no cars on the road. The less attention I could raise, the better.

"That's right kid, put em' up," he said as he came closer to me. He took out handcuffs the closer he came. That's right, just a little closer. When he was in reaching distance I elbowed him in the face. He put his hands to his face, dropping the handcuffs. "Damn kid," he said as he uncovered his face and aimed the gun at my leg. I tried to reach for the gun, but it went off. I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I looked down at it as my black blood stained my jeans.

"Now look whatcha did!" I yelled at the guy as he looked shocked that he actually shot me. "I'll send ya the bill because there's no way I'm getting this stain out." I lifted up my pant leg where the gun wound was. The ichor was smeared on my skin, and a hole was in my leg where the bullet went in. It was already starting to close up and heal. I didn't feel any pain anymore.

"The hell… " The guy said as he stared at the wound and then looked up at me. "You really are a monster." he dropped the gun as I put my hands together in a prayer fashion, and smiled.

"Oh, but you haven't seen anything yet." I thought with all my might and managed to gather the part of Dormin that controlled this certain colossus.

 _Avion, the Delta Phoenix._

A black mist started forming from my skin and started to cover me from my head to my toes until I was finally covered. It was a part of Dormin, they were inside of me. An entity that no one but me and my family understood. I grew larger and larger at an alarming rate until I became a huge colossal bird. The mist seemed to blow away with the wind as I flapped my wings until I looked down and the trees and buildings seemed like specks. I gave a cry of thrill that would echo throughout the town below. While I was a bird I figure I might as well take a joy ride. I had huge wide eyes and a crowned like head. My claws were big enough to pick up a school bus. My wingspan was about 127 feet and when I flew I was 36 feet tall. My whole body stretched as long as 158 ft, from the tip of my beak to the end of my tail. I was huge and I knew it too. There was one thing about this bird that was peculiar, that was that I was made out of stone. Only certain parts of the creatures I could turn into had fur. I had some fur, stretching down my back all the way to my tail. Some on the tips of my wings as well.

I flew low past the buildings, trying to keep altitude without destroying this part of the town. My eyes were black and pit-less, there was a blue flaming design circling my pupil. I noticed the town hall clock tower, one of the few buildings in the town made of brick yet. I knew I should just head home, but landing would be fun. So, I positioned my body vertical and started to flap my wings slower to reduce my speed. My claws outstretched and grabbed onto the tower, which shook under my weight. I leaned forward a little with the momentum from my flight. My tail stretched almost all the way down the tower. I looked down and noticed a crowd of people gathered down on the sidewalk. I could see all their faces staring up at me and their phones flashing photos. That probably wasn't good. Although, everyone by now should know that it's me. I was a bit like a local celebrity terror show.

My wings were raised as I stared at them with my black and blue eyes, I looked menacing up close. These people should've been afraid out of their wits, they should be running. I would have grinned sadistically if I was human. I would show these people that they needed to run, and I knew just how to do that.

I outstretched my wings to their full length, then I dropped off the tower completely. I outstretched my legs in front of me, and my blue eyes turned orange with rage. I opened my mouth and let out an ear-splitting screech. I was diving at the people who stared at me. I dropped faster and faster, with gravity acting on me; a giant stone bird. I heard screams and shouts as everyone scattered away from me. They ran through the trees and streets like ants. Soon enough, everyone was gone. I decided I would take off to home, where I could change back without being reprimanded. I flew out of town, the clustered houses spacing out more as I flew. I and my family lived in the country, not on a farm, but just the country. It was peaceful and the perfect place to change into colossi.

I noticed our house, surrounded by a small forest of trees to provide wind cover. There was a grassy field behind our house beyond the woods. We owned it, so it was allowed for me to land there. I positioned my body vertical again and started to flap my wings slower until I lowered myself to the ground. My claws digging into the dirt and grass. Once I was landed, I focused my mind on being a human again. Then, the dark shadow covered my body again, then I shrank and shrank until I was human size. The shadow disappeared inside of me. I was human again. I looked around and noticed the small breeze blowing the grass in the field. I ran to the woods that surrounded our house. My backpack bobbing up and down on my back as I ran. I ran through the trees, that covered the sun from my pale skin, and soon I was in my own backyard. I walked to the back door and opened it. I shut it behind me and leaned against the door, panting, and locked it, with a sigh. I figured I could get away with my mischievous act today if my parents didn't find out.

I dropped my backpack at the doorway and flopped my shoes next to it. I walked down the hallway a little and made a sharp left to the living room. I was greeted by two very disappointed faces. My mother and father stood, arms crossed, in front of the TV. This was not very great.

My mother wore one of her light blue casual dresses, that went perfectly with her blonde hair that was up in a bun. My father bore a thick mustache in the color brown, he had a full set of hair.

"Hey guys," I said in a cool, slick voice. "What's up?"

"Not another word," my mother said, her voice as sharp and cold as ice. "Would you like to explain this?" My parents moved out of the way of the TV.

Our TV was HD and large, it took up a lot of the wall space. You could tell it was the news because you had the banners all over the place. "Breaking news…" and things like that. The TV was perfectly paused to see the colossal bird diving at a crowd of people who scattered. Maybe I could say I've never seen those people before, that might just get me out of it. The tail of the bird was so long it didn't fit in the frame of the photo. News sure as hell got around quickly, I was there about 15 minutes before now.

"It's a bird," I said. That response only got me a couple frowns. Both from my parents.

"Jason, what did we tell you about using your powers?" My father asked.

"To not use them," I said with defeat in my voice.

"Unless the sword is around." My mother intervened.

"Well, a man stopped me and told me that he had the sword." My mom turned to look at me.

"What?"

"He said he had the sword."

"Were your hands glowing?"

"I'm not sure," I said, my mother, looked troubled as she grabbed my hands and stared at my palms. I stared at her palms, they were dull now, looking like an old faded tattoo. She had passed her powers to me. My palms weren't glowing, but my hands, or symbols, glowed when the sword was nearby. Wherever my symbols are on the colossus that's my weak point. One stab with that special sword, and… I didn't know. Nobody in my family had encountered the sword in their lifetime, and now here it was. The Forbidden Sword is the only thing that could kill us, although, we do die of old age. Unless our powers are dulled and transferred to offspring, the power is let loose. It will possess anyone who is nearby and only one person.

"Just don't do it again unless you know for sure, and definitely don't go terrorizing people with your powers." My father said as he leaned closer to me and whispered. "No matter how amusing it may be." He let out a grin. It was easy for my father to say this, he didn't know what it was like to have monsters at your fingertips.

It was a simple night, I finished my homework and ate supper. Not another word was said about my mischievous act today. I was rather thankful for that too. Otherwise, everything was normal as usual. I went to bed at a decent time and in the morning dad was already at work. I was asking my mother a question, as I was bouncing up and down like a child. We were in the kitchen and my mother was eating breakfast.

"Please, mom can I turn into Celosia to run to school?" I begged.

"No, you'll freak everyone out," she said as her mouth was filled with cereal.

"What about Cenobia?"

"No, they're practically the same colossus."

"Phalanx?"

"No."

"Avion again?"

"If I could I think I'd take away your Avion privileges after yesterday." She said as she smiled. I knew she enjoyed it when I reviewed the colossi names with her, there was a time she could change into them too. Before I was born.

"Phaedra? Basaran? Kuromori? Dirge?" Whoops. I forgot that my mother didn't like that one. It was awesome… At least that's what I thought. She didn't like it, because it creeped her out, and most definitely scared her.

"No, and definitely not Dirge. You know I don't like that one," she said as her smile disappeared. "How about I just drive you to school?"

"The boring way?" I asked, "I suppose, since everyone else is doing it, it must be all the rage!" I said with extreme sarcasm, as my mother laughed.

"That's life for you," she said as she smiled and took care of her cereal bowl. "Full of disappointments."

I put my backpack on and ran out to the car, leaves crunching under my feet as I ran. It was spring and there were still dead leaves lying around. I waited for my mom to come as I watched her lock the door to the house and head to the driver's seat. We drove the long ways to school. We had to drive to town, and then through town. Sometimes, like yesterday, I would have to walk home, but my parents allowed me to turn into one of the small colossi to run home, once I was out of town. I waved her goodbye as she wished me well in school.

I walked into the high school cafeteria, where everyone waited to be dismissed to their first class. I pinpointed my one and only friend. As I walked through the crowds of people they all started to mumble quietly. They looked and pointed at me like I was an animal. I looked at their eyes, glancing from face to face. They all looked afraid, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. It was good that they were afraid, I wouldn't have it any other way. I made it to the other end of the cafeteria, which had gotten a lot quieter since I came. I sat down to my best and only friend, Bradley.

He had pitch black hair and black and thin glasses. He smiled when he noticed me coming.

"Wow, you're the only person I know that can quiet down these barbarians," Bradley said. Bradley, let's just say… was a nerd, but my friend nonetheless.

"Well, what can I say?" I said as I extended my arms and changed my eyes from a normal human's to a colossi's glowing blue. "I'm a little peculiar." I smiled as Bradley clapped. I changed my eyes back to normal and took a bow. Bradley was different from other people. He understood my situation and was absolutely fascinated by it. My powers put a light and meaning to his life. It's what he told me once, so I swear to you. I was also his only friend, not even his parents were as close to him as I was. They could care less if he disappeared one day…

"Amazing, you'll have to teach me how to do those extraterrestrial things someday," he said as I chuckled.

"I don't think I'm quite cut out for that."

"You are clearly cut out for being on TV. I noticed you on it last night, as did the rest of the world." Bradley said as his smile disappeared. "I would be very concerned if I were you. The government would and most certainly should be looking for you soon. At least that's what I would do if I were the government." The smiled vanished from my face.

"Let's not worry about that."

"I would, and yet I wouldn't, not with your powers. You could easily wipe out over 5% of the world population within a year. With the powers you possess… " he said as he eyed me with fascination. "You could take over the world." I smiled at that thought as the bell rang. "Now, don't get too high on your pedestal, someone's bound to come knocking!" Yelled Bradley as he and I were swept away by the waves of people.

He was swept away more than me, everyone stayed clear of my path. They all looked at me in silent awe and fear. They knew what I was and was capable of. With what I knew though, well… I could take over the world.

After most of the morning classes, we all made our way back to where we started out the day. An ironic twist I know, I always felt relieved during lunch. More open space, fewer teachers looking at me as if I would change and squish them. So, yeah, lunch was a break from everything else. I took my lunch pack to the usual table that I and Bradley sit down at. I waited for him to get over here when I noticed that Dumb Nuts, or the local school bully, held him up. Literally, held him up off the ground. I didn't have to be nearby to know what he was growling at Bradley about. Something about, give me your lunch and blah, blah, blah. Dumb Nuts was getting on my nerves, so I put my hands together and then stopped. My mother didn't want me changing into a colossus without permission. Ugh, fine I would take care of this the hard way.

I stood up and walked over to Dumb Nuts and Bradley. Dumb Nuts looked at me and I noticed a flash of fear in his eyes, and a moment of unsteadiness. Then replaced by pride and ego.

"What do you want?" he snorted. "Monster."

"Set him down," I said as I tried to make myself look bigger, for intimidation. I know ironic, trying to be big when I can become a creature the size of the school.

"What for? You two outcasts don't have a place in this school."

"For your sake. That is if you'll have one once I'm done with you." I said as he dropped Bradley.

"With what army?" he said in a stereotypical snarl. I closed my eyes for a moment or two. Enough to question my sanity and I opened them wide with orange colossi eyes. The orange like fire, circling the pupil as I stared him straight in the eyes.

"With a one-man army is all!" I yelled "That's all I'll need!" he finally broke and cowered down. "Don't mess with him or me again!" I yelled one last time before the coward scampered off to his cowardly friends. I changed my eyes back to normal and with a smile helped Bradley off the ground. "Let's have a wonderful, Dumb Nut, free lunch." Bradley smiled at this and said

"Indeed, his stupidity levels are higher than his IQ." I snickered at this as we made our way back to our table to eat.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket, so I set down my food to see who it was. It was my mom, which was weird, she never called me during school. I quickly answered.

"Hi, mom, what's up?" I said in a wary voice.

"Jason listen to me very carefully," she said frantically. I didn't respond as I did, in fact, listen carefully. "There are people looking for you and me. They know what we are. Some already came to the office looking for me, they didn't know who I looked like, so I lied, then got out of there. You need to get out of school and meet me at that old railroad bridge. Not too far out of town."

"Alright, but how am I going to get there?" I paused and smiled a huge grin. "Permission to become a colossus, ma'am?"

"Permission granted, just get here soon," she said as she hung up. I set my phone back into my pocket.

"You're smiling that smile," said Bradley in an excited and wary voice. "Permission granted?"

"Granted," I said as Bradley's heart seemed to skip a beat.

"Oh, my granola!" he yelled. "Can I take pictures?"

"Just make sure they make me look awesome," I said as I started to head to the doorway of the school.

I noticed two adults dressed casually, walking around asking questions to students. Then one of the students pointed to me. I noticed the eyes of the two focus on me. They started coming my way. I pretended not to notice them as I tried walking around them. I pulled my long sleeve over my hands. I could hear their footsteps come from behind. One of them put their hand on my shoulder.

"Would you mind me asking you a question?" The tubby one asked. Mom said they didn't know what we looked like.

"Sure, what can I do ya for?" I said, pulling a slight accent out of my ass.

"Do you know a kid named Jason?" I gave him a puzzled look as I pretended to think. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Dumb Nuts approach. No, not now. I gotta get these guys out of here.

"You know, I think he's upstairs having lunch, he's a bit of an outcast, a little weird." The guy seemed to believe me. Dumb Nuts was within two steps.

"Thanks, kid," Tubby said as he and Skinny walked past me. I started to slowly jog to the exit.

"Excuse me, sir." Dumb Nuts said, "That was Jas-"

I was out the doors and into the barren bus lot, where kids were dropped off and picked up. I put my hands together.

"Hey, Jason!" Tubby yelled, but it was too late.

 _Celosia, the Flame Guardian._

Out of thin air, the first thing you hear is the screeching of stone claws against the blacktop. I turned into a lion-like creature, who stood about 13 ft tall, 25 ft long, and 18 ft wide. I shook my body like a dog out of the water. I had two orange glowing eyes that were resting on a stone-faced beast. My head was square and there was no mouth on this colossi. Where my mouth should've been, was engraved stone that made me look like I was smiling. Not a good, friendly smile either. Out of both sides of that smile were horn-like pieces of stone jutting out and forming a slight curve outwards. My front claws were sharp and huge, they easily sized up to a man's torso. My back feet didn't have large claws, but my tail was about 7 ft long and covered in stone armor. In fact, my whole body was covered in stone armor. The armor had ancient markings all over it, don't ask me what it meant either. I let out a growl and found Skinny and Tubby on their phones. I needed to attempt to get a clean getaway.

They were towards the school doors and I was halfway across the parking lot. If they thought they could outrun me, they were stupid. I started running across the blacktop faster than they could imagine running. Soon, I was close enough to lunge at Tubby, I knocked him into the wall of the school, and there he lay, not getting up. Then, I noticed Skinny trying to get a clean getaway. I jumped around a full 180 and I took off at a full sprint towards him. He pulled a gun on me as I batted him into the wall of the school with a thud and a nasty crack. I noticed blood start to seep from his nose and mouth. I knew he wasn't getting back up. I did another turn to see if Tubby was still there. He was still laying there, but there was someone else near his corpse. I charged forward towards the threat. _**How dare they trespass.**_ I stopped myself short before I charged the person. It was Bradley standing as he looked up at me with fear. Dormin had had control over me for a moment. It didn't happen often, but when it did I lost all control.

I thought carefully about being human again, the shadow covered me and then was absorbed back into my skin once I was human again. Bradley seemed relieved that I did not trample him to death.

"Bradley, I'm sorry," I said as he nodded and waved it off.

"Don't worry about it, the day that I die, I will make sure my death is noble." His confidence was back again.

"Alright, well, I gotta go, before more thugs show up, make sure you send those pictures to me."

"Can do!" he said as he walked off, back into the building.

 _Avion, the Delta Phoenix_

I turned into the same bird again, claws scraping the blacktop and tail resting on the ground. With one flap of my wings the trees, practically blew over, and with another few flaps of my wings I was above the ground and soaring through the sky towards the old railroad bridge out of town. I slowly landed on the ground, my claws digging deep into the earth. Then I changed back into a human. It was a short flight and anyone could easily have followed me to where I was now. It's not like you can hide a giant bird. I noticed my mother right away, sitting on the edge of the bridge. I walked up to her and sat down along with her.

"Thank God you made it," she said.

"Well, I had a little trouble with some dudes," I said as she gave me a scared look.

"I knew they were on to us, we need to find that sword. Before, they catch us. It's all because they're scared because people are afraid of the unknown."

"Bradley isn't though, in fact, he's drawn into it like a moth to a light," I said as my mom thought about it in silence.

"I suppose we could trust Bradley, then. You have known him for years, and I've seen how nice he is when you have him over. We can trust him, just don't tell him everything. " My mother stopped at this and sighed. "The sword is going to be a real problem for us, whoever has it, knows it's our weakness, and I don't think they'll stop at hunting us down until they're dead, or we're dead. It's up to us to get rid of them first."

"Sounds like a plan to me, although how are we going to find them?

"We'll find them when they find us."

 _To be continued..._


	2. Agro

I woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning, the best of all mornings, even a Sunday morning couldn't beat it. The birds were chirping with the joy of an early spring and I was in my bed staring at the ceiling, listening intently...

 _ **"Thy sword is near…"**_ Every once in a blue moon, Dormin would most definitely talk, whether it was about the weather, or how to rule the world, and just about every topic in between… ** _"Does thou intend to find it?..."_** The good thing about these guys is that I can telepathically communicate with them.

 _"Yes, I will find it and I will destroy it."…_

 _ **"Thy sword cannot be broken, nor melted. It must be hidden, where no mortal besides you may find it… "**_

 _"Sounds like a challenge if you ask me."..._

 _ **"An easy challenge it will not be, thou must find it thyself, we are just mere spectators… "**_

 _"And you guys have been spectators for thousands of years, why haven't you taken control yet?."_ Then, they shut up. _"Ah, I see don't want to spoil the surprise, sounds fair. Besides… I love surprises."_

I sat up in bed, knowing that Dormin was done talking for a while. I looked around my bedroom admiring my collection of rock band posters, hung up all over my walls. You had Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Five Finger Death Punch, and even System of a Down. I grabbed my phone off of my counter to text Bradley to meet me in the local park. I wanted to tell him about my plans for this sword and this man who wanted my powers.

As I waited for a response I waded through the layer of dirty clothes on my floor and opened my dresser drawer, and found nothing. I spotted a pair of blue jeans in a pile of dirty clothes. I picked them up and took a whiff, they smelled fine to me. I started to put them on as I scoped for a shirt. I found one near the end of my bed, it was plain blue, it smelled a little rich, but hopefully it was a windy day out, should blow the smell away. My phone buzzed just as I got the shirt over my head, it was Bradley.

"Sounds good. I'll be there in 10." he texted. That means I would have to get there a little quicker. I grabbed two random socks off the floor and hurriedly slipped them on my foot as I hopped out of my bedroom. My mother was making breakfast and I could hear the crinkling noise of a newspaper from my dad. Who in the hell reads them things anymore? I waltzed through the hallway and into the kitchen.

"Good morning Jason, would you care for some bacon?" My mother said calmly.

"Nah, no thanks, I'm meeting Bradley at the park."

"Suit yourself, more for me then."

I slipped my shoes on and ran out the door and into the small woods and finally into the field. I put my hands together in a prayer fashion and focused my mind.

 _Avion, the Delta Phoenix._

The shadow surrounded my body as I changed into the colossal bird. Soon enough, The dark smoke was absorbed into my being and I was on my way, flying through the sky. I would make it to town in 5 minutes, but I needed to stop somewhere to change back into a human. Lucky enough there were fields outside of town, so once I arrived I landed and changed back into a human. Then, I sprinted to the park, hoping not to keep Bradley waiting. In another 5 or so minutes I made it to the park, huffing and puffing like a smoker. I noticed him wave from one of the picnic tables. It was a pretty active day at the park, considering that it was early spring, it was a normal day. I made my way over to the table as the cries of joyful children erupted through the park. I sat down as Bradley's eyes lit up with glee.

"I'm surprised to see you here and that the cops didn't get to you," he said with a grin. I sat down across from him as he finished.

"Whoever wants me obviously has the intent to keep it a secret, otherwise since they know who I am they would most certainly send the cops. They want me to themselves though, and they're going through a lot of trouble to get me."

"Very good analysis, I agree on that. If they're willing to go through that much trouble they're willing to go through more. Are you?"

"What do you think?" I asked him with a grin as he grinned back. "I'll fight to the death for the life I have. I'm going to let you in on my plan. When I find the sword, I'm taking it and hiding it."

 _ **"Art thou sure thou can trust this other mortal?"**_

 _Why would Dormin say something like this now? Do they not trust Bradley?_ I pushed them to the back of my head.

"Can't the sword be destroyed?" Bradley asked"No, it's a holy sword, there's no way it could be destroyed," I said as the conversation drifted into silence until Bradley gasped and took out his phone.

"The pictures you asked for!" He started to scroll through photos and menus until he came to a picture of Celosia. It was when I was doing my 180-degree spin around and Bradley's phone had captured all the detail in my armor and the stone scrapping the blacktop.

"No social media, right?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Nope, no media. I know that neither of us needs that type of attention. Besides I'm sure they're looking under every fence post for you." He said as he smiled and the conversation drifted into silence for another moment until one of us brought up the topic of school.

Most of which consisted of: if we completed homework, or what teachers were deathly afraid of me and wanted to quit or which ones would quit because of me eventually. I also asked Bradley how the family bank was.

"How's the bank Bradley?" he shrugged at this

"My father and mother spend too much time there if you ask me, but then again it's nice being the only one in the house. Gives me quiet time to catch up on reading." I laughed.

"What haven't you read?" Bradley had to think for a moment as he finally came to a conclusion.

"I've read everything except Darwin's theory on evolution. I can't remember what the book is called…. Wait! It's called something like Origin Of Species by Natural Selection."

"There you go."

"Speaking of change, a little birdie told me that we're getting a new student Monday," Bradley said as he gave me a little look. "We both know what this means."

"Civil war between all the cliques, fighting over the basic ownership of this person. Like a fish surrounded by hooks. Whoever they are, they'll be overwhelmed, and we'll have to approach them." I've thought this out before when every new student came and went. I noticed everyone seemed to rush for them. One good thing about new kids is that I can actually get to know the true them and they can get to know me. Not the monster me, but that normally doesn't last long, in the course of a day I could make a new friend and lose that friend. There's a lot of talking that goes on behind my back, but it doesn't bother me.

"This is why we get along," Bradley said "We over think things. All we need to do is be ourselves and get our names out there, maybe we'll get lucky. Speaking of luck, I'm sure we're not lucky enough to have Ms. Rubez quit on us, right?"

We spoke for what felt like two minutes, which ended up being the whole day. We said our goodbyes and headed home before dark.

I woke up Sunday morning with Dormin talking to me again.

 _ **"We thought thou would be wiser to keep thy thoughts to thyself."**_

 _"Since when did you guys have a say on what I can or can't do?"_

 _ **"We are just merely warning…"**_ Then they were quiet.

I had slept in my clothes from yesterday so when my mother starting yelling for me, I just hopped out of bed and walked out of my room.

"Jason!" she yelled as I got closer to the living room. "Get ready, you said you'd like to visit your grandfather today! I'll meet you in the car!"

"That's right, I nearly forgot," I said as I arrived in the entryway where I popped on my shoes and headed outside where my mom was ready and waiting for me in the car. I hopped in the car and buckled up, even though it wouldn't matter, I would live through a car crash either way.

"Dad doesn't want to come?" I questioned as she drove away from the house.

"Not exactly, " she said with her eyes on the road. "I'm going on a shopping spree after I drop you off. So, yeah, he definitely did not want to come with. Besides, there's a soccer game that starts at noon. He said he couldn't miss it."

"Alright, sounds good to me," I said as I glanced out the window and noticed the fields starting to grow crops. We drove for about 10 minutes until we reached a long driveway that reached way down to a farmhouse and a large white barn with a black roof. We drove down the driveway, in between two fields, one growing corn, and the other growing soybeans.

This is where my grandfather lives, he hunts, fishes, farms, and is retired. He's also on my mom's side of the family, so he's just like me and my mother. He was a monster. My mother dropped me off saying she'd be back when she'd be back, then drove off down the driveway again. My grandfather sat on the small porch on the house. He wore an old plaid shirt with a tank top that used to be white underneath. He puffed on a huge cigar that puts cigarettes to shame. He smiled when he saw me and motioned me up to the porch.

"Hey, Jason my boy," he said in a deep thick voice. "I'm very glad you stopped by this weekend. I have something very special to show you." I walked up and hugged him.

"Good to see you, grandpa," I said as I sat down in my chair beside him. He chuckled:

"Grandpa is right! I might only got a few years ahead of me yet." he sighed "But it would be a blessing, considering how bad the world has become. I pray for you boy. To survive in a world like this is to survive in the hell down there." he said as he pointed to the ground. He laughed "I'm sure you'll have no problem though, you are my grandson after all." he said as he held up his hands to show me the same sigil that me and my mother both have. He chuckled, "Well, I suppose if I'm going to show you what I intend to we better get to it." he said as he stood up and slowly stretched.

We walked across the driveway and to the barn, where inside it was dark and dim. Until my grandfather turned on the lights, the whole barn was lit up.

"Right on this last stall here." he murmured to himself as I turned to look in. "Had a beautiful colt born about a year ago. You remember, that pitch black one?" he asked me as I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, that pitch black one you said was going to be white," I said as he chuckled.

"Definitely not white, opposite. Except, one white diamond on the forehead. A goddamn beauty that's what. Thoroughbred, meant for speed and durability. Definitely, a horse that'll stay by your side." Then a head popped out of the stall. It was the horse we were discussing. A beauty he was indeed. He snorted as I stared at him and he stared at me. I lifted my hand to let him smell it and he immediately started sniffing. He snorted again and reached his head out of the stall more to smell my face. I pushed him away as he kicked against the stall door. My grandpa laughed,

"He loves you already! Good, because I'm giving him to you," he said as my jaw dropped in excitement.

"Thank you!" I said as I hugged my grandpa and he laughed.

"Sure, now you'll get to keep him as long as you pick out a good name for him." I thought for a few moments. I looked at the horse's head and size. Then I knew.

"Agro," I said with determination, as my grandfather stuck his hand out to me.

"You got a deal," he said as I clasped his hand and we shook on it. "Now you want to take him for a spin?" he asked as if Agro was a car.

"Yeah, let's see how he goes," I said as my grandpa went into the next stall to grab everything I needed for riding.

"I'll just give you a basic and lightweight setup," he said as I nodded. I watched him take the saddle and put it on Agro. I couldn't forget about the reins either, as Agro lifted up his top lip after the bit was in his mouth. "Let's take him out to the yard." my grandpa said as he opened the door. Agro stood slightly taller than me as he bit the hair on top of my head, I pushed him away again. My grandpa lead him by the reins out to the yard that the horses would graze in. Except now there were obstacles set around. "Go ahead and mount him, then I want you to go from a walk to a canter, then a full-on gallop. Just go around the fence a couple times, until you both get used to each other." I climbed on Agro's saddle, he turned around to look at me and snort. "Now," my grandfather said "let the legend come to life." as he extended his arm forward in a gesture.

I grabbed the reins, which seemed loose in my left hand as I pulled them to the right. I leaned to the right as well as Agro whined and carried on with my request. I kept him going for a full 270-degree angle until he jerked up and jumped a little way around, then I decided we would finally move. I lifted both of my legs on either side of the horse and threw them against Agro to get him moving. He started out at a walk, as I bobbed back and forth with his movements, I threw my legs against him again. Then he picked up the pace drastically, as I started bobbing up and down instead of left and right. I sat up straight and firm and the bouncing stopped a little. Then I was ready for a gallop as I tapped my legs against him again and we flew over the ground, everything around us seemed like a blur. Ahead of us though, we could see perfectly. A bar that Agro needed to jump over. We ran towards it getting closer and closer. I hoped the horse knew what he was doing because I didn't. Then as if time itself froze, we were in the air flying over the bar. Agro let out a loud neigh as we hit the ground and I pulled on the reins. He dug his hooves into the ground as all the dirt and mud flew into the air. Then we stopped moving straight in front of my grandpa who was smiling so sound and happy.

"You're a natural boy!" he yelled with pure joy "Just like me, just like me!" he laughed at this as I dismounted from Agro. I patted him on the neck and rubbed the top of his head. Then looked the horse straight in the eyes and said

"Agro, is your name," as if he was human and could understand what I said "You remember that alright." then like a miracle Agro bobbed his head up and down a little as if it was a nod. "Good boy." Then as if on cue, we heard someone come down the gravel driveway.

"Well," sighed my grandpa "Looks like your mother's here already. Don't forget to visit me next weekend. We'll work with Agro more, get you two more acquainted." he said as we walked out of the barn and noticed my mom sitting in the car. She smiled and waved, then rolled down the window and yelled:

"We'll have to talk another time grandpa!"

"We will, very soon indeed!" he yelled back as I opened the car door and sat in the passenger's seat. I waved goodbye as we pulled out of the driveway and headed back to town.

"I think I have a lead on who wields the sword." said my mother with excitement. "They had to be the ones who sent in the private eyes to question you. They must have someone inside the school, with you. A kid, that watches your every move, otherwise how would they know that you even had powers. What they were capable of, anyone come to mind?" she asked

"Dumbnuts," I said as she laughed a little "Although I don't think he'd go out of his way to get at me."

"Right, the stereotypical bullies don't do that kind of thing," she said with a smile. "You just remember to keep him in his place alright?"

"Oh, yeah," I said "it's hard being Robin Hood." my mother laughed a little at this.

"As it is for everyone, now how was your time at grandpa's?" she asked as I explained everything from my grandfather's predictions to Agro. Then by the time I had finished, we were home. I explained everything again for my father who said:

"I always thought you'd be good at horseback riding, considering you can turn into a giant horse. I'm proud of you son, don't forget that," he said as we all sat around the TV watching the soccer game. Then like the snap of a finger, the weekend was over. We were all at school again Monday.


	3. The New Kid

I never thought I'd see the day that everyone would ignore their cliques and rejoice with each other for a few moments. Until I walked through the doors, everyone stared and scattered back to their cliques. All eyes were on me as I walked to me and Bradley's lonely table in the middle of nowhere. I held my own as I sat down and everyone started to murmur quietly.

"No new person?" I asked Bradley without looking at him. "And I thought we would win this one over."

"Patience my friend," he said with a grin. "The birdies I talk to are reliable sources."

Then, like an outlaw walking into a saloon, the spotlight shifted to the new kid who walked through the doors of the school. Everyone shifted their attention to the kid. A girl stood there, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. Her sandy blonde hair was in a sloppy type of bun thing that girls wear. She held a set of books close to her as if she was hugging them, scared and nervous. Then slowly but surely people started to make their way to talk to her. Until eventually, she was surrounded by people, but not for long. They started to cluster back to their groups as I started to walk towards her.

 _This is it._

I could feel everyone's eyes staring at me, waiting to see what I would do. Soon, I was nearby, as the two of the most popular girls stood their ground to talk to her. I wasn't sure if I should kill them with kindness, or literally squish them. Ashley and Gwen, both brunettes and both richer than a damn doctor. One of the two was more passive than the other, that was the only way to tell them apart. They continued to talk to her until one of them turned around and then whispered something into the other's ear. They were like that for a good moment, until they said their goodbyes and scampered back to their clique. Once they cleared I was face to face with the new kid or the new girl, whatever people wanted to call her. She stared at me with a tiredness and non-expecting look, that was basically saying get on with it.

"Hey, I'm Jason and you are…?" I said as I outstretched my hand. She stared at me, almost startled, and accepted my hand. I noticed the murmurs in the lunchroom die down and all eyes were on us. She smiled and said,

"I'm Cassie, clearly new here," she said softly with a small smile, that resembled the smallness of a cupcake. "Um, is everyone like this? All quiet and stuff?" she asked.

"Um, actually," I couldn't tell her she was shaking hands with a monster. "Yeah, they don't exactly like to talk around me much. I'm a bit intimidating I suppose." I said as I couldn't help but glance at my hand that Cassie had let go, and was now at my side. She giggled a small bit.

"Intimidating?" she asked, "Not much for the meaning of intimidation hm?" I looked at myself, wearing a large hoodie and decent fitting jeans.

"I suppose not. What class do you have?" I asked her as she set her books in the nook of her arm and dug through her pocket with the free hand. She pulled out her schedule and eyed it over.

"English, then Spanish, then Geometry, Lunch, Biology, and then History." she listed off the classes and I nodded.

"I can show you where English and History are, "I said casually as I noticed a bit of joy flash in her eyes.

"Yes, please!" she said with relief. "Oh, thank god I have classes with someone I partially know." I widened my eyes in surprise.

"Awesome, I could probably show you to the rest of those classes, I'm not in any others though."

"Or, I could show you around." I turned behind me and Dumbnuts stood behind me with a devilish smile on his face. "From the way it sounds we have some classes together as well," he said with a seemingly charming smile. He didn't acknowledge me as he stared at Cassie with desire. I noticed her face completely change as soon as Dumbnuts started talking.

"Um," she said as I noticed her legs start to shake slightly. "No thanks," she said in a whisper.

"Aw, come on it won't be a problem," he said. I noticed Cassie looked me dead in the eyes pleading for assistance. I turned around to face the nuisance.

"Actually, it will be," I said straight to his face. He laughed and rubbed my head playfully, except it was too rough to be playful.

"Nonsense… "

"That's what you are, but what am I?" I said as I noticed his jaw clenched. "What's the matter? Got lockjaw on me Dumbnuts?" I taunted as my iris started to turn from a marble green to more of a light brown. I noticed Cassie's face get extremely red and her eyes wide. "Will you excuse us for a moment?" I turned and asked her as she nodded. Dumbnuts and I walked off out of hearing distance. "The hell is wrong with you? Eying up a new girl like a piece of meat?"

"More like what the hell is wrong with you!" he laughed "Do you really think she'll want to be friends with a monster like you? Don't even get me started on a girlfriend scenario."

"What do you mean?" I asked

"You won't be able to change into a monster around her unless you want to lose any progress on a friendship. So, in case you do end up going psycho and turn into a beast, I'll be the netting at the bottom of the type rope. Here to help her take the fall." he laughed maniacally. "So, watch your back pipsqueak," he said as he walked away laughing.

"Damn you," I said under my breath as I walked back towards Cassie.

"Everything alright?" she asked quietly.

"Not exactly, but for now… " I said as my thoughts started to drift around in my head like clouds. "How about we head to the 1st hour? We'll beat the morning rush." I said as she nodded.

I showed her where her morning class was, warning her about Dumbnuts, and how to avoid him. The classes were boring as usual until lunch when I sat at the table with Bradley. I wondered if Cassie would come around. I kept looking behind my back constantly, like the scope of a submarine looking for Dumbnuts.

"I can clearly tell something is wrong," Bradley said as he dug through his lunch bag.

"Wow, good stereotypical guess, that's correct," I said without looking at him, trying to pinpoint Dumbnuts.

"Whatever it is I can already tell you're going to have anxiety side effects if you keep this up for another hour. I'm trying to warn you to relax my friend."

"Not quite yet, just got coordinates on Dumbnuts," I said as I noticed him talking away with Cassie as she tried to keep her head down. I started to stand up until Bradley warned:

"I must warn you again," he said "You have two choices: show her your real self or keep this facade going for as long as possible. Although, that option will be compromised eventually as well. Choose wisely, my friend." He was right I had a choice to make, I just had to choose the one with the least amount of regret involved. I stood up and made my way over to the duo.

"Then I made the most perfect field goal… " said Dumbnuts

"Cool, you do that in reality or your latest dream?" I said as I waltzed in between him and Cassie. She seemed overjoyed to see me and already seemed exhausted of Dumbnuts. He stared at me with an enraged warning look. With a slight dash of taunting mixed up in there.

"Hate to change the subject," he started "but I believe you have something you'd like to tell Cassie here about yourself," he said as Cassie looked over at me with a questioning look. I already conjured up a plan. I slouched my shoulders and made myself look defeated.

"Alright, alright, you got me," I said dramatically "The truth is… " I paused to get a good looked at Dumbnuts; who looked on at me with sadistic glee. "I find my comebacks on the internet. I spend all night googling and searching for new ones, I have a whole google doc filled with comebacks, that I copied and pasted. I don't even cite my sources!" I started to smile at Dumbnuts, who knew that I won this round. "Anyway… hate to change the topic," I said mimicking Dumbnuts. "Would you like to come and sit with me and Bradley?" I asked Cassie as she smiled and nodded. We walked away from Numbnuts victorious as he stood alone as angry as a bull. We both took a seat as Bradley said:

"Ah, yes, of course, the well heard of Cassie. Also known as the new kid." in the most formal voice. "I am the nerd, Bradley. I hear you've been having some trouble with the local nuisance. Yes, quite the pest." he said as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. Cassie smiled:

"Nice to meet you, Bradley," she said, "So, wait, that guy's name is Dumbnuts?"

"No, just a nickname," said Bradley as he took a bite of a sandwich. She giggled.

"I see. So, what do you guys do in your spare time? Just a random thought." she said as Bradley and I both looked at each other with the same nervousness. I lightly shook my head no. He slightly nodded his and took the stage.

"I've read many books over the years, from the human biology to psychology. Rather fascinating, I must say. Did you know that memories, whenever we think of them they're like a puzzle? The pieces fall into place and they do this every time, but sometimes a piece goes missing. Therefore your brain makes a new and imaginary piece to fill the gap, so your memory isn't always correct." he said as he blabbed on. I thought I was in the clear until Cassie said:

"What about you Jason? What do you do?" Crap. I didn't have a plan for this one.

"Um, what about you, Cassie, I mean ladies first, right?" I said trying to dodge this bullet.

"Well, I suppose," she said as I glanced at the clock. 3 minutes, 3 minutes until classes start again. "I do love to draw and read and write. Have you ever read White Fang, by Jack London?"

"No I'm afraid not, but I'll surely get to it eventually, not like our library has anything interesting in it anyway."

"It's amazing," 1 minute. "Now that I've told about myself how about-"

"Well, would you look at the time," I said quickly as I pointed to the clock on the wall. "A few more seconds and we'll be stuck in the post-lunch rush. Better get ready."

"Alright, I suppose," she said with slight disappointment.

The bell rang and we headed off to our next classes. Before I knew it the day had ended and me, Cassie, and Bradley were leaving through our last hour's door. Talking about transportation.

"Have you ever been on a plane?" she asked me.

"Well, not exactly, but kinda," I said, which was the honest truth.

"What do you mean kinda?" she asked as we turned a corner and Dumbnuts was standing against the wall. Painfully obvious that he was waiting for us.

"Hey pipsqueak," he yelled in my direction. I made a deep sigh and turned around along with Cassie and Bradley. "Why don't you leave the poor little lady alone? Hounding her like some kind of dog."

"Says the one," I said clearly loud enough for him to hear across the hallway.

"You looking to pick a fight shorty?"

"No, not really, but I will if a have to," I said as I bent my knees and elbows into a fighting stance. He did the same, then just before we lunged at each other a teacher noticed and started bickering at us. They chased me and Cassie away from Dumbnuts who they scolded. We finally walked out of the school doors and stood outside.

"Glad to see someone took care of Dumbnuts," Bradley said as Cassie nodded and smiled.

"I love the name you guys gave him," she said, "It seems fitting." Then well all stood there until Cassie said: "Alright, I should probably make my way home, my parents will be wondering where I'm at if I don't get there soon."

"Alright, see you, Cassie," I said as Bradley and I waved at her as she walked off.

"Well, I would say we've both made a new friend," Bradley said as he turned towards me. "What I find most peculiar is that no one told her about your secret."

"Yeah, that does seem weird, it makes me wonder who would tell people not to talk about it,"

"Definitely a difficult mystery," Bradley then perked up and motioned over to the two popular chicks. Ashley and Gwen. "Maybe they have some influence, we should go talk to the- oh shit they're coming over here. Quick talk about something," Bradley said as I quickly thought of a legit conversation.

"Did I tell you I got a horse yesterday?" I glanced at the chicks and noticed they were almost next to us.

"No, you have not, please converse,"

"Excuse us," one of them said, the fact that they said the word excuse meant that this was the politer one, which I believe was Gwen.

"What can we do for you?" Bradley asked as the possible Ashley butted in.

"Look outcast and monster," she motioned to me "Stay the fu-"

"What she means to say is could you please stay away from Cassie?" Gwen asked us.

"So you guys were the ones keeping my powers a secret then?" I asked them as they both nodded their heads. "How did you manage to have everyone in the school keep it a secret.

"We contacted as many people as we could to spread the word, no one would decline, knowing the wrath that Ashley could unfold onto them," Gwen said

"We'll keep it a secret, so long as you stay the hell away from her," Ashley said as she got into my face. "A good-hearted person like her doesn't need to see or know about the horrors that spin around a monster like you."

"What if she comes to me willingly, what if she wants to be my friend?" I asked them as they looked shocked.

"Yeah right, why in the hell would she want to be friends with two losers like you," Ashley said as Gwen pulled her aside and they conversed. I glanced over to Bradley and raised my eyebrows, and he raised his in turn.

"What did I do?" He whispered to me as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Alright, we've come to a conclusion," Gwen said as Ashley sighed and rubbed her fingers between her eyebrows.

"If she willingly comes over by you to talk or whatever, we'll allow it," Then she turned vicious again. "But if you go fucking near her while we're watching I'll beat the shit out of you and then tell her your secret. If you won't show it willingly then I will personally-"

"Alright, Ashley I get it!" I yelled and she seemed to back off quite a bit, I noticed a moment of fear in her eyes.

"Alright, just don't forget what we agreed on, remember our group will be watching you and Cassie," Gwen said as she and Ashley walked away.

"Well, that got a bit intense," Bradley said as I nodded.

"Did you see the fear in her eyes," I said sorrowful and Bradley looked at me oddly.

"I thought you loved the fear in their eyes, fuels your adrenaline,"

"Sure, hey I'll see you tomorrow as always Bradley," I said as I started walking off in the direction of home.

"I'll see you," he said with a tad of confusion in his voice.

 _ **"Art thou going to let those mortals talk to thou like that?"**_ Dormin asked me as I felt a sudden rage through my veins. I have no clue where the rage came from, but it felt… good.

 _"No, actually I'm not,"_ then the reality of the situation arose, _"But they'll tell her my secret if I don't put my tail between my legs."_

 _ **"Thy choice is up to thou… "**_ they said and then they were gone from my head.

I suppose the rest of this friendship I have with her is completely up to fate now, isn't it? I noticed the hayfield that I normally change at up ahead. Soon, I was in the middle of the field, the grass was already close to my knees, nearly ready for the first crop. The wind blew the grass around making it look as though it was a restless sea of green. The rest of my week was looking interesting, hell the rest of the school year looked pretty chaotic. Now to throw this friendship on top. Maybe I should try to keep my tail between my legs for the week and if things go good, then I'll continue. Although, if things go bad, then I say fuck it, be completely myself. Ugh, I feel like I'm thinking about this way too much. How much homework do I got going on tonight, a fair amount I suppose. I should probably be making my way back home.

 _Avion, the Delta Phoenix._

As the black cloud of smoke passed over me, I thought I could see some blonde hair flashing near a house across the road from the hayfield. Even if someone was watching me, they were most likely a local. There were a lot of blondes in this town after all. People who do know who I am, know that I don't intend to hurt them, so the town is ok with me existing. Anyway, I changed into Avion and made my way home to complete some homework, then go to bed right away, it was going to be a long week.


	4. The Long Week

Tuesday, the hardest day of the week to wake up on, knowing you were past Monday was relieving, but once you realized you were still far away from Friday seemed to physically hurt. It was a normal day, as normal as it gets having an ancient entity taking residence in your very being. I wasn't worried about that though, I was mainly worried as to how Cassie would react considering how aggressive Ashley had been yesterday.

I noticed Cassie seemed reluctant to talk to me during our classes and lunch. The puppeteers Ashley and Gwen were definitely doing a good job controlling her. Dumbnuts was really laying off of me and Bradley, which was very odd. It seemed as though there wasn't a day that would past without one insult or one glare. I wasn't complaining. Tuesday, was dead and gone within the 8 hours of school.

Wednesday, also known as Humpday was always bringing hope to people who sometimes couldn't finish out the week. Giving them the confidence and strength to continue on. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. Early in the morning before classes Bradley and I were sitting at our regular table and talking.

"Don't you think it's odd, that I've never seen your dad?" I said, "Or your mother?"

"I've never seen your parents, we normally meet in neutral places," Bradley said matter of factly as he took a swig from his water bottle.

"What do you think about Dumbnuts laying off of us?" I asked him as he nodded intently.

"I enjoy the quiet. It's also very peculiar. The last time this happened he was ill from influenza,"

"You know Bradley, most people just call it the flu,"

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that he's up to something and we should be prepared for whatever that is… Whenever it pops up in our faces" I nodded determined with his tactic of 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'. Bradley raised his eyebrows suddenly. "Oh, look who's free from her shackles," he said as I turned around and noticed Cassie.

"Hey, you guys what's up?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

"Nothing much, where have you been at?" I asked casually, even though I knew the answer.

"Been hanging out with Ashley and Gwen's group of girls," she smiled wide, "They're actually pretty awesome, they were intimidating at first, but now they're not so bad,"

"Good, that most likely means you're officially welcome to the district and the kids within it," Bradley said

"I won't stop visiting with you guys though, maybe every morning I'll come over here to chit chat,"

"That sounds absolutely lovely," She grinned and the bell rang,

"I'll see you guys around," she said as we all went our separate ways, I wasn't supposed to be near her, so I took a different route to English.

Soon enough Wednesday was over, and then it was Thursday a day to be thrilled about, Friday was just around the corner. In a way, Thursday was just a second Friday, people acted as they would on Friday, on a Thursday. It was the pre-hype to a glorious Friday, where we were all released from the shackles of school unless some stupid teacher assigned us over the weekend homework

Cassie never did stick to her word about chit chatting in the morning and was ushered by Ashley and Gwen's group. It was another day where she didn't talk to me or Bradley. What I thought could be another friend, was only just an illusion, something I longed for, held just high enough where I couldn't reach it. Every afternoon, after school, I always thought I could see that blonde hair waving in the wind out of the corner of my eye, it's most likely an illusion, missing her in reality, so my brain makes her up. How gullible I could be.

Friday, oh fucking Friday was here. There's always a certain energy in the air, a certain hop in everyone's step when it's Friday. The air smells fresher, the people seem happier, it's all wonderful, every ounce of it.

I waltzed into the school with a certain happiness that's only achieved once a week. I sat down at Bradley and I's table and waited for him to show up. I had gotten carried away and woke up too early, so there were only one or two people in the common area.

"Hey," I small voice, similar to that of a cupcake spoke up behind me. I turned around knowing exactly who it was.

"Hey, what's up?" I wanted to say stranger, but the look of sadness on her face was enough to make me cry if I was fully human. She sat down next to me and I could tell her body leaned towards me as if she couldn't hold herself up. She looked around warily and noted to herself. Then her full weight leaned against me and her face burrowed into my shoulder.

"Why dew ne noove?" she spoke in my shirt.

"What?" I said as she lifted her head.

"Why do people move?" I could see in her eyes that tears were starting to well. I was lost for words, I never had to move before, not even when I was little.

"To… discover, maybe hide from something… to run from something. Or maybe to run to something, head on." She nodded and sniffed.

"I'm sorry for not talking to you and Bradley lately. Honestly, I'd rather be with you guys, then Ashley and Gwen's group,"

"Do you know why they force you to be around them?" I asked even though I knew the reason, as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, I think they're hoarding me from exploring other groups, they're greedy with having me around," she laughed a little, "Ugh, I hate being wanted," then she laughed a little more until it disappeared. "Besides, with you and Bradley around, you both kinda chase off Darren," Darren? Who the hell is he?

"Who's he?" I asked as she looked at me and grinned.

"You really don't know his real name?" I gave her a confused look as she laughed, "Dumbnuts, you and Bradley chase off Dumbnuts," Oh, ok. "I don't know what it is about you, but he steers clear of the both of you. Do you know why?" I shrugged my shoulders

"I'm not sure, maybe it's because I'm intimidating," she laughed at that,

"Yeah, you and your pale skin, and 'bulging muscles', he better be scared of the competition," she said sarcastically, I grinned at that.

"Seriously, though," I said, "Is he bothering you? I can get him to stop," Permanently.

"Nah, I'll just hang out with you guys from now on, Ashley and Gwen, mainly Ashley, can't force me no more," she sighed, "He hangs out around that group of girls like a shark around chum, we're just pieces of meat." she said with a pause, "That's just what it seems like." We both paused as the conversation was nearing an end as more kids started to filter through the doors.

"What would you do… " I started, was this really a good idea? "If someone you knew was hiding a huge secret, a colossal one," Nice sneak in of a pun there, "That affected everyone around them, what would you do?"

"It depends if they were murdering people for giggles, then yes I would have a problem, but if they were killing people defending themselves, heck. I'd join in." she looked me in the eye, "You aren't murdering people for sport are you?" I laughed,

"No, trust me-"

"Hey, you guys," Bradley said as he walked over,

"When you hang out with people like Bradley, you gain a lot of patience," she laughed; Bradley looked a bit offended.

"Is there something you don't like about me? Shall we go our separate ways?" Bradley said dramatically,

"Bravo, bravo, it's all in good nature friend," I said as he sat down. "Speaking of bravo's when's the next play? What's your part in this one?"

"Bradley, is in the Drama Club?" Cassie asked as I nodded,

"Yeah, he has been since Middle School,"

"Fiddler on the Roof, sadly, I will not be playing Tevye, I'm not sure when it will be either,"

"I'll keep an eye out," I said as the bell rang, "Well, Cassie and I will see you later at lunch," I said as Bradley walked his separate way and Cassie and I headed off to English.

The rest of the day was a boring old school day, although lunch was more interesting. Getting evil glares from the popular girls, and even Dumbnuts. Golly, I just love it when the whole school is against me. The Friday, flew by so quickly that I was leaving the school a little later, to make up a test that I nearly failed… fucking math I swear. I had texted my parents letting them know I would be a little late. I was coming down the stairs of the school into the common area and noticed Cassie head deep into a book. There was no one around, everyone leaving to enjoy their Friday night. I walked down to Cassie and sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said as she looked up startled to see me, she quickly turned away, wiped her face and closed the book in one fluid motion.

"Hey," she said solemnly. Then neither of us talked… until I knew that something had to be said.

"Something is clearly wrong," I said as she turned her head towards me, her sandy blonde hair covering the sides of her face. "Are you willing to tell?" she took a deep sigh.

"My parents decided to move to this town, Garsbern, what the hell kind of name is that?"

"Sounds like someone made it up on a whim," I said as I turned towards the author and raised my eyebrows.

"I've no clue, why they've moved here, but it's only made my life miserable. Not to mention the arguing that they embark on, constantly, and it's over the stupidest shit ever," She was clearly worked up over this, I've yet to hear her cuss until now. She buried her face in her hands. "It makes me want to run away, to head back to my town, to my friends, to my relatives, to all the people I know and love. Back to New Bethan. God, I miss my friends, it's nothing like this place. We had a group, we had a little posse of people. We didn't care what others thought, we didn't judge each other, no one hoarded each other like property. It seemed normal, yeah you still had your cliques, but that's everywhere. I just miss home," I noticed a tear stream down her cheek and land on the table. "I just want to go home, is that so much to ask?" She pushed her book in front of her and laid her face on the table setting her arms on the table above her head, then started to sob.

Yet, again, I was brought to a situation where I did not know what to do. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I brought my left arm down on her back and slowly patted her on the back, hoping that would calm her down. After a few moments, it seemed to work and she stopped sobbing and only started sniffing. I removed my hand and sat there thinking of what I could do to make her happy. Then, suddenly, she leaped at me to hold me in a hug.

"Thank you, Jason, for being here for me, when not even my parents could,"

"Sure, anything for a friend," I had just thought of something that could put this friendship in jeopardy, but it would be worth it. "How far is this New Bethan town of yours?"

"It took us two hours to get here, and it's North more, there's no way to justify a trip there with gas prices."

"We'll figure something out," I said as I stood up from the table and offered her my hand. "How do you feel about flying?" I noticed her eyes go a little wide, "Come on let's get going," she took my hand as we both walked outside the school doors, it was already starting to get a little dark. We stood at the entrance for a moment.

"Jason, I gotta tell you some-"

"Well, it's gonna have to wait, he's mine for a moment," Dumbnuts said as he and two other of his goons showed up at the side of the school where it was a pure brick wall.

"What for?" I asked as I stepped forward to him and I noticed he wanted to step back, but he ignored his instinct. His mistake I suppose. My eyes started to turn orange, I could feel the lovely burning sensation of rage fill my very being.

"It's about time you told the truth, so I'll let you say it willingly or I'll force you to show what you've been hiding this whole week," he said as I could feel Cassie's shock and curiosity stare at my back. I had two clear choices, show myself, or play dumb for as long as possible.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I already fessed up about my Google Docs," he seemed to stomp his foot and snort like a bull at that comment. With his muscular build from the football team, it was no joke to compare him to the size of a bull. A blonde headed bull, what would a bull look like if it was blonde? I don't think I've ever seen one…

"Fine, don't say I didn't give you a choice," he said as he looked at his two goons and nodded his head, then they came rushing forward at me and I noticed Cassie step back and Dumbnuts hand was on her shoulder, making sure she would watch. They came at me, and I went straight for the first one's groin, which he took head on and collapsed to the ground on his knees. I raised my fists to the second one, who raised his as well.

"You really think you want to get hurt for this buffoon," I asked as he swung at my head, but I dodged to the right, missing his attack and I went for a lower gut punch, which made part contact, until the first goon, came charging at me and pushed me against the brick wall, holding my hands behind my back, with my face digging into the wall. Both of the goons took one of my arms and held me still in front of the wall.

"I'm feeling generous today, so I'm going to give you one more chance," he said as he fiddled with something in his pocket. What was he going to do?

"I still have no clue what you're talking about," I said with confidence, as Dumbnuts pulled out a knife, a larger hunting knife, not a knife that you would find at a normal supermarket, that's for sure.

"Let's see how good my aim is," he said as he held the knife in throwing position "just below the ribs," he murmured as the knife flew through the air seconds after, spinning over and over, until, I felt the knife land itself into me just below the ribs, into my diaphragm. I could feel the blood starting to seep out of the wound and soak my shirt. The two goons let me go and the shock on Cassie's face was painful to look at. I couldn't breathe for the time being which wasn't necessary, to begin with, but I was gasping for air. I took hold of the knife and slowly pulled it out of my muscle, I dropped it to the ground with a little clash as it hit the blacktop. There was a gaping hole that was filling with black ichor, or black blood, whatever you wanted to call it. The hole in my gut was starting to patch itself up and I could breathe again. I took a deep breath of air to fill my lungs again. There was the look of disappointment and betrayal on Cassie's face.

"Jason," she said as Dumbnuts was grinning like a clown, "I knew you could change but, I didn't know… " she trailed off… Knew I could change?

"What do you mean… " I was catching my breath "You knew I could change? Who told you?" I asked, my alliance with Ashley and Gwen was no longer a worry.

"No one told me, I noticed you… " she paused again out of disbelief. "In the field," I fell to my knees defeated and I noticed Dumbnuts and his two goons walk away victorious.

What does she think of me now? Does she think I'm a monster? Will I ever be able to make friends? What will Dumbnuts do next? You've disappointed her, you've disappointed your family, you're a failure. You could never keep a friend unless it was Bradley. Why couldn't you be normal, why am I stuck with this curse, why am I like this? Why can I never win? Why was I born a monster?...

"Jason?" she said cautiously as she took a step towards me, "Are you ok?" Am I ok? I wasn't even sure.

"What about you?" I asked "What does this change? Will you look at me with fear? Or disgust? Maybe not look at me at all?" I stood up "I want to know if you're ok," we both stood there. I put my hands in my pocket and I noticed her flinch. I felt a tinge of anger. "So, that's how it's going to be?" her head looked straight towards the ground. A vehicle drove to the side of the curb.

"My parents must be here to pick me up," she turned around to walk towards the vehicle and then before she opened the door. "Goodbye," she said quietly, then she hopped in the vehicle and drove off to home.

It was too good to be true. It was over. It was done. I give up, in fact, I don't want any more friends, not even Bradley, he has potential to hang out with better people, but it's me holding him back, no one wants to hang out with a monster's friend… Then I just stood there, staring at the sidewalk as the sun got lower and lower on the horizon. I didn't leave my daze until another vehicle pulled up to the curb. Must have been my parents, I looked up and noticed it was a pick-up truck with a topper on. It was most definitely not my parent's vehicle. There was discomfort in my hands and I looked at my sigils and noticed they were glowing bright blue in the dim light. I shoved them into my pockets as two grown men came over to me.

"Good evening good sirs," I said as politely as I could, "May I ask what it is you're here for?" They both towered above me. I needed an escape plan, think! Fight or flight response? I tried to quickly put my hands together in a prayer fashion, but one of the guys grabbed one arm and the other grabbed my other arm. I firmly planted my feet in front of me to stop them from dragging me to the vehicle, but they simply just picked me up off the ground. "Wow, you guys are strong," I said as they continued to carry me to the back of the pickup. "Should've had more food today, you wouldn't be lifting me like this if I would've had one more bag of Doritos," One of the guys used his other hand to open the back of the truck. Alright, enough was enough, now was the time to struggle.

I kicked my feet out as if I was swinging on a swing set, which caught both of them off guard and their grip loosened on me. So, I used that momentum to swing again, causing both of them to lose their grip on me. My feet were back on the ground, now my next course of action was to run. I took off back to where I was, I could hear one of the men's footsteps behind me. There was no time to change into a colossus, so once I reached the wall of the school I turned around to face them head-on as a human.

Why the hell bother me now? Out of all times, why now? I started to get angry, my eyes turned orange and I could feel the strength and stamina of Dormin in my being. The first man grabbed my shoulders, so I grabbed his shoulders in turn. The look of shock on his face was wonderful. Then, I grabbed one of his arms, leaned into his hips, I bent over, then squatted and then lifted him up off the ground. Even though the man probably weighed twice the size of me, he was in the air. I threw him to the ground and successfully knocked the wind out of him. The other man was at the truck, staring towards me.

Then, I could feel everything start to become faded as though I was dreaming. I looked at the man on the ground and he sat and stared at me unmoving. My eyes turned back to normal as my knees got wobbly. I noticed a pain in my left arm and I looked and noticed a little tranq dart poking out, feathers and all. I grabbed ahold of it and pulled it out of my skin and crushed it with my bare hands; letting it go listening to the glass tick on the concrete. I hadn't fallen asleep right away, so they must be using some low-grade tranqs, but if these would make me drowsy, then they must be high grade compared to normal people.

I finally fell to my knees, and both of the men seemed to charge towards me, they grabbed both of my arms again, and hauled me towards the truck again, this time slamming my head onto the tailgate.

"Are we really going to need to syringe him?" one of the men asked

"Yeah, it's not like he can die, besides this will make sure he's actually knocked out."

"Alright," A few moments later I could feel one of them poking at the veins in my neck, then the syringe went in, and it must have been a large syringe because it felt uncomfortable. "There, should do for the trip, but considering how elephant tranqs only tired him, this will only last 30 mins at the most, maybe an hour if we're lucky, or considering how late it is, he might be out until morning,"

"What does it matter? The job is halfway done, the hardest part is over, help me lift him-"

I closed my eyes and that was it, darkness was all I noticed and heard.

There were 2 chickadees, 3 morning doves, and 3… no 4 cardinals calling out to each other throughout the trees that were above my head. I opened my eyes and noticed I was still in the back of the pickup, my arms stretched out with my hands tied to the sides in chains, so I couldn't change. I could feel the phone in my pocket was gone. This wasn't looking very good… for whoever did this. The woods were gorgeous this time of year, the trees were just starting to blossom, it was a bad time of year for people who had allergies though. I couldn't get allergies, then again I couldn't die either. The back of the truck was open and there was a man sitting in a camping chair watching me. He had light brown hair, military cut, but from the sight of the man, he didn't give me military vibes, ex-military maybe. He definitely reeked of evil. He had a clean-shaven face and wore a red and black plaid shirt with a tank top underneath that. The way he looked at me, it was a very punchable face, or squishable, whichever came first.

"Can I trust that you won't act on impulse?" he asked me, his voice rather smooth for the build of a man he was, he had to weigh at least 200 pounds if not more in pure muscle. Definitely ex-military.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, obviously suspicious of anyone who would go as far as to kidnap me.

"If I let your arms rest, you won't change into a creature and kill me right away," he paused "That wouldn't be very fair of you to do that, or fun for that matter,"

"Fair?" I asked as my eyes turned orange "You want to talk about fair? Meet me face to face next time like a man, and maybe I would go easy on you,"

"Well, you didn't go easy on my two men who came to retrieve you at school, save a week ago,"

"You sent them?" he nodded "Out of all people. What do you want me for anyway?" he seemed to perk up at this.

"You can obviously change into these monsters, and not die. So, I want to know who, what, when, where, why, and how you can do all of these things. I suppose the quickest way would be to introduce ourselves. Jason, I am Allen, your new enemy," He's way too cocky. "Now first things first," he looked to the sides and nodded. The two men who had captured me used their keys to unlock my arms from the truck. I scooched forward to sit on the edge of the tailgate, face to face with, well, my enemy, Allen. What a quirky name. He nodded again and one of the men brought the Forbidden Sword to this man. My hands felt as though thousands of cleavers were cutting into them, I tried ignoring the pain and playing it off, but he could read right through me.

"This hurts you, being near this holy object, doesn't it? I can see it written all over your face," then he stared at my hands which were glowing immensely, "Let me see your hands," he said as he forcefully grabbed one of my hands. "Some type of symbol, interesting. Now enough gawking, I believe to truly understand what it feels like, I need to acquire some power," he stared at the sword that glowed with a blue veil. "So," he said as he stabbed the sword into the ground, "Come and kill me," I looked at him questioningly.

"What?"

"Change into a monster, so I can kill you and take your powers for myself," I laughed a little,

"That's not how it works,"

"How does it then, are you willing to become an ally to your enemy," I snorted through my nose and put my hands together. Fine, I'll just kill him then.

Valus, The Minotaur.

I was a giant humanoid beast that stood at 72 ft tall, double the height of a telephone pole. 33 ft long (counting the hammer that I held out in front of me), longer than a London bus by 5 feet, and 39 ft wide. I held a giant hammer in my right hand. My arms and legs were covered in stone like leggings and armors that bulged above skin level. My feet were round, similar to hooves. I had three stone lines on my chest that would almost seem to be holding the platforms that were on my back. I had one large platform on my lower back and two separate ones on my upper back. My back, my head, my shoulders and chest, and the back of my left leg is covered with a dark tan colored fur. My stone spine stuck out on the top of my back, near my shoulders. The back of my left foot was also covered in fur and was a vulnerable spot, where if struck I would fall to my knees. My face was in stone and held the formation of a long snout down my face with eyes at either side of the snout. I also had two very small, round, stone horns coming from my head. My only sigil was on top of my head. My feet were large enough to squash a car and my hammer, large enough to destroy a building.

I stood over the trees, which actually made it a tad difficult to see the man, luckily the forest was scarce of leaves since they were just starting to sprout. He ran towards my feet around the trees. I stomped my left foot then my right and did this back and forth until I stopped it see if he was squashed. There were a few trees that were knocked to the ground after this. I took a step forward, knocking down a tree in the process, then I felt a piercing pain in my back left heel. I leaned forward a bit, then another stab of pain, and then I was brought to the ground, eliminating a lot of trees in the process. I slammed my left fist into the ground, with a giant shake of the earth.

He had to be climbing onto my platform. I got back up on my feet and I could feel the man climbing between platforms. I started to shake like crazy until I felt him release. I turned around and noticed him on the forest floor. I took my hammer and raised it over my head. Then, it quickly came down and crashed into several trees, hitting the ground and shaking the earth with it. I swept my hammer to the right, eliminating the truck, crashing it into a tree. The man repeated his tactic, but I repeated my tactic too, with a different outcome. He had managed to hang on this time. I started to get dizzy and stopped, I could feel him crawling on the top of my shoulders and heading towards my head. Then, I felt blank, I had felt this feeling before, not too long ago. I involuntarily started walking forward ignoring the ultimate death on my back.

No. I thought, No, not now. The colossus's instinct was taking over, and Valus just happened to not be the brightest. An overwhelming force of pain from my head came about, the man had stabbed us once in the head and ichor was starting to gush out in a huge geyser-like stream, so hot it nearly evaporated once it hit the air, leaving no trace that there had been a massacre. Another stab and another flash of pain. Finally, after mentally struggling to gain control of the Colossus, I regained power again. I took my left free hand and tried squishing the man on my head, but he moved to one of my platforms before my hand collided with my head. Then, after ditching that fact, he ran up to my head again. I started to shake and wasn't going to stop shaking until he was off. But he hung on until I got so dizzy it felt as though I was going to tip over, which wouldn't do me any good. So, I stopped shaking and the man got another stab in on my head. One more stab and this would be the end of me… Actually, I don't know what would happen after this. This has never happened, it should never happen. It will happen. I leaned forward and quickly flung my head back, only giving the man whiplash. I had nothing left up my sleeve. Then the final stab, the final gush of blood flowing from my head. I dropped my hammer and the whole forest seemed to shake and tremble with fear. Then I fell to my knees, and then finally collapsed completely when I blacked out.

I moved my toes, then my fingers, I tried my legs, then my arms. I took a deep breath. Then I opened my eyes. I felt strange, not right, as though a limb was missing from me. Valus was missing. Lucky for my human self, I suppose. The man, what was his name? Allen, who had slain the colossus was sitting in front of me again, he seemed to be willing, for an enemy, to explain things.

"What happened?" I asked him as he leaned forward in the chair, eyes glistening with glee.

"I killed you," he said slowly "Or at least I thought, we were both passed out, my two friends noticed us. They said black tendrils came out of the colossus that was covered in a black mist, then as the tendrils, were absorbed into me, you were left as a human again." I slowly blinked, I suppose an indirect way to say thanks for actually filling me in, even though you need to die. "You're welcome, what kind of villain would I be if I didn't give myself a challenge by informing my enemy, so they can at least keep up. Now, the reason why you're not tied up is that I've heard from other sources that there are other beasts to be slain," he stood up from his chair. "And I intend to kill each one," Then he smiled a sadistic grin, "Show me the next one," I looked at the warehouse. "Don't worry about the building," he said with a hand wave. "It's not mine anyway," I grinned at that.

"You truly are evil," I said as I put my hands together.

Valus, the Minotaur… Nothing. Alright, now that I've tested that, time for the plan to follow through.

Phalanx, the Trail Drifter.

My body was immediately consumed in mist, and since this colossus could fly I was floated up about halfway to the top of the warehouse, the rest of the Colossus was forming underground, then finally when the mist faded I was gaining altitude so quickly that I tore through the metal roofing of the warehouse and a couple hundred feet after that into the sky. I had caught Allen's face before I flew through the warehouse and it was a look of pure shock with some awe and admiration. I couldn't blame him, I was quite the sight to see.

Phalanx… not the greek army formation, but the Colossus, was the largest of them all. 656 feet long, the warehouse was puny compared to me. If I was flying vertically I would be 50 some feet taller than the Space Needle in Washington state. I was 230 feet wide, with my fins at full length. My wingspan is smaller than the height of the Statue of Liberty. 82 feet tall, while flying, from the bottom of my air sacks to the top of the tallest spike on my back. I was a giant serpent of the skies. My nose is in the shape of a giant spear and I also have 3 eyes, two on my left side of my face one eye is lower and diagonal from the other. I only have one eye on my right side, the bottom eye was scratched out by something. I have four large fins that are grooved on the top. There are two on each side and help me steer while flying. I also have a few smaller fins located in the midsection of my body, they were mainly for looks if you ask me. Then, I have a couple unmoving fins on my rear end. I have three sigils. One is near the head, the other is on my midsection and the last is near the rear. I have flaps of stone that I can raise and lower to protect those weak points, but it's difficult since I need them open to fly. Not only could I fly, but I could burrow under the ground as well, although I needed a ton of space to do that, and there was no need to at the moment. I had three air sacks, one was largest and near my head, the other was in my midsection and the last was on my rear. Some colossi had the power to create energized attacks, but I used that energy to control my altitude by deflating or inflating the sacks whenever was convenient. Now, I needed all the altitude and distance to get away from that psychotic man.

Soon the warehouse was a speck and I noticed we weren't far from the woods we had battled in earlier. As I floated through the sky, making sudden purr-like noises and adjusting my fins properly, I noticed a road nearby, a main road, that looked like it lead back to town. I focused my mind on becoming a human and the mist started to erase Phalanx from the sky and I turned back into a human, hurtling towards the earth at high speeds. When the trees, finally caught me, each branch seemed to hurt more than the last, until I was abruptly tossed to the ground. It seemed like the pain of this fall hurt a little more than normal. Yes, I have turned into Avion and flown really high, just to fall as a human. Did my parents agree? No, but I did it anyway and lived, I always felt pain afterwards, but immediately would go away, this time it lingered, for a few milliseconds, but after getting stabbed, shot at (don't ask), and falling from heights, you start to catch on to what hurts more, and how long it hurts, so when something changes you notice it. I needed to push that aside, now that Allen knows that I've taken off, he'll be out looking for a giant sky serpent through the sky, or searching these woods. I took off running towards the road if I could find the road I could find my way home. My parents needed to know about this one. I'm sure they were already worried as is since I didn't come home last night. How long has it been anyway? It feels like morning again. Weird. I needed to look at my grandpa's books too, maybe they would have some answers.

The worst part was when Allen was talking with his hand gestures, I noticed something on his hands… the sigils. Damn this next week, just got a whole hell of a lot busier. I have this project due in history and not to mention the report due in English, then to add this on top of it…


End file.
